The present invention relates to home network computer systems, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a transmit/receive switch utilized in a 10Base-T Ethernet data communications system, that provides data communication between computers and peripherals over a two-wire medium.
As more appliances and items in the home become computer controlled, and as more homes obtain multiple computer systems with associated peripherals, the importance of a home network for allowing data communications between computer systems, automated appliances, and peripherals within a home is increasing. While many high speed networking alternatives are available for businesses, which generally have a greater capability for investment in networking resources, choices for a home network are limited by practical and economic factors common to the typical household. Systems designed especially for home networking may require expensive custom hardware having marginal or negligible performance advantages giving rise to unattractive price vs. performance tradeoffs. On the other hand, the cost associated with rewiring a home to provide cable capable of carrying signals at network frequencies typical of existing network technology, such as Baseband Ethernet, using existing network hardware can be prohibitive for most households.
Baseband Ethernet technology is commonly used in businesses for providing network connectivity, and has evolved into successively more robust forms over many years. One commonly used baseband Ethernet technology is know as the 10BASE-T network. The 10BASE-T network has an operating rate of 10 Mbps, is compliant with LAN 802.3 standards and specifications, and thereby provides moderate to high speed interconnectivity between many workstations and peripherals for most applications.
In a conventional business LAN application, workstations and peripherals, such as printers and disk towers are wired together to allow shared access, data transfer, and communication between individual user workstations and network devices. A typical 10BASE-T network interface card (NIC) is located at each workstation and network device and accommodates two pairs of unshielded twisted-pair wire. Under the 10BASE-T standard, one twisted pair is used for data transmission and one twisted pair is used for data reception. Due to the specialized nature of the interface circuitry and the common mode noise rejecting capability of the xe2x80x9ctwistedxe2x80x9d configuration of the actual wire pair or, alternatively, the noise rejecting capability of shielded coaxial cable, relatively high data rates may be achieved. In the typical home however, existing coaxial cables for cable TV service cannot be used to transmit data because of the resulting signal interference, and twisted wires pairs are unavailable. Accordingly, high data rate networks are not possible without expensive rewiring.
One solution to the home networking problem has been to use existing phone lines to transmit data. Conventional subscriber line wire pairs however, are traditionally contemplated for narrow band voice transmission in the range of 0 to 4 KHz. Physical limitations arise related to, for example, signal-to-noise ratio, which have traditionally limited the maximum frequency capable of being transmitted over normal phone lines, making it possible for only relatively low data rate signals to be transmitted. As a result of such limitations, the overall cost and complexity of bringing high data rate network communications to the home environment has typically been prohibitive, although some home network systems have been attempted.
One example of a prior art home network is the TUT Systems, HR1300T. The HR1300T uses a xe2x80x9ctime modulation line codexe2x80x9d to provide an in-home network over existing phone lines with a modulation scheme providing a data rate of 1.3 Mbps. While 1.3 Mbps provides an improvement over the data rates achievable with, for example, standard modem technology, the HR1300T requires a proprietary protocol incompatible with 10Base-T Ethernet standards. Accordingly, CSMA/CD protocols cannot be implemented.
Other proposed solutions to home networking include standard modem technology, digital subscriber line (XDSL) technology, and wireless technology. Standard modem technology has traditionally been limited to data speeds of 56 kbps and requires very complicated circuitry and high quality line characteristics not reliably available in a typical home. Although, xDSL technology can transmit data at a much higher rate than standard modem technology, up to 4 Mbps, the cost of implementation of xDSL is very high and requires very complicated modulation methods. High quality line characteristics, such as signal-to-noise ratio, may also be required with xDSL technology to meet theoretical objectives.
Wireless solutions allow for connectivity between elements, typically using frequencies around 900 MHz, but have certain drawbacks. Since wireless portable phones and are often operated in neighboring bands there is a high likelihood of signal interference between a wireless LAN and portable phones or household devices such as, televisions, computers, garage door openers, alarm systems, and the like. Moreover, CSMA/CD protocols, essential to proper handshaking and collision avoidance between network elements, are far more difficult to implement and more unreliable in a wireless application. Without reliable compliance with CSMA/CD protocols a properly functioning, standards compliant 10Base-T network will not be possible.
CSMA/CD is an acronym for xe2x80x9cCarrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detectionxe2x80x9d. In a CSMA/CD network, transmission channels are normally open for transmission on a continuous space available basis. Devices communicate when necessary, subject to whether the transmission media is clear, essentially xe2x80x9ccompetingxe2x80x9d for transmission time. Since Ethernet protocols are largely packet based, and packets are generally designed to be relatively small (1Kbyte), a given device is not expected to occupy a channel for an inordinate amount of time. It is still possible, due for example to propagation delay, for collisions to occur even though the protocol is designed to avoid collisions.
A conventional four wire 10Base-T Ethernet network with CSMA/CD typically avoids collisions by sensing the presence of a signal on the receive pair at the network interface controller (NIC) and inhibiting transmissions initiated by the NIC over the transmit pair during such intervals. If a collision occurs, an Ethernet compliant network device immediately stops the transmission of a frame as soon as a collision has been detected. By stopping the transmission, greater efficiency is achieved. To recover from the collision, the network device waits an interval then retransmits. If a collision occurs on the second attempt, the device waits for a longer interval before retransmitting. The process of waiting for progressively longer intervals is called xe2x80x9cbackoff.xe2x80x9d Each time the device senses a collision on a subsequent transmit attempt, the time between making a transmission attempt will be increased by a small constant factor, leading to xe2x80x9cexponential backoff.xe2x80x9d After a limit is reached, data is simply lost.
Because, a typical Ethernet NIC has four wires, a two wire transmit pair and a two wire receive pair which are wired at all times to the network, the CSMA/CD protocol is active at all times. A problem arises however in the home network environment where only a single pair of wires is available. In such an environment, CSMA/CD has not been possible since only one of the two pairs may be connected to the two wire phone line at one time.
Therefore, as can be appreciated, there is a need to provide a CSMA/CD compliant home network that is easy-to-install-and-use, that is available at a low cost, and that can provide high data rates while taking advantage of existing two wire phone lines.
The present invention overcomes the above identified problems as well as other shortcomings and deficiencies of existing technologies by providing CSMA/CD compliant 10Base-T Ethernet data communications over an ordinary two wire phone line.
An apparatus and method for practicing thereupon include a transmit/receive switch coupled between a network interface controller (NIC), having a transmit and receive wire pair, and a two wire medium such as a residential phone line. The transmit/receive switch, in the default position, may be set to normally receive. The NIC senses receive energy originating from the two wire media through the connection provided by the transmit/receive switch, in the default position, between the switch common and the receive wire pair. When receive energy is no longer sensed at the NIC, a transmit signal may be generated by the NIC, placed on the transmit wire pair and sensed by a carrier sensor having a control logic unit. In response to detecting transmit signal energy, carrier sense/control logic unit changes the transmit/receive switch to transmit position and transmit data may be coupled through the switch to the two wire medium. Upon completion of data transmission, the carrier sensor/control logic unit returns the transmit/receive switch to the receive position in order to resume carrier sensing in accordance with CSMA/CD protocol specifications on the two wire medium.